Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV yesterday turned the tables on businesswoman Guillermina “Mina” Barrido Arcillas who claimed his camp pressured her to invent allegations against President Duterte and produced a video of her being interviewed by his camp.
Trillanes denied they bribed Arcillas to testify against the President, saying it was she who approached them in November 2016 and told them that she saw Duterte “tasting cocaine” in a Davao City port.
He was not present during the interview conducted in Manila but Trillanes said Barrido’s narration was recorded by his staff.
In the recorded video which was released by the senator’s office, Barrido claimed how Duterte himself waited and checked out a cargo shipment containing cocaine at a pier.
In the video, Barrido said she feared discreetly taking a photo of what transpired in the port because she feared she could be shot to death if they found out.
But Trillanes said Barrido did not pass the credibility test when they vetted her as a witness.
“One example, she said, was that she saw the incident because she was selling ‘balut’ (fertilized duck egg) in that area. We had a problem with that. We checked the place she was talking about to check if it’s really possible to have an access there. We know some people there but we realized, no, it’s not possible,” Trillanes said in a press briefing at the Senate. (Hannah L. Torregoza)